The Calanmai Alternative
by Darkly Dreaming
Summary: ACOTAR AU. Penny meets Sheldon on Fire Night. (Leonard is Tamlin and Howard is Lucien, but neither actually feature.)


A/N: This is a bit difficult to explain. So I work at a library- no, that doesn't explain anything. I read this series - A Court of Thorns and Roses, etc., by Sarah J. Maas. First person teen fantasy, but if you can get through the first book (of which the scene I played with here is borrowed from) then the second and third are absolutely phenomenal. Much like TBBT it's character driven and the characters are great. If you haven't read it, do so, but you don't necessarily have to have read them to read this.

Almost all of this is directly quoted from the book, so I'm not really sure why I needed to do this, but I did. Need it, that is. I was talking with Alisha and it would be literally impossible to do the whole trilogy as an AU - there just aren't enough TBBT characters to supplant them in, and it'd be weird to use both characters. But I needed something, some kind of interaction between Penny and Sheldon in this universe, in these characters' places, and this seemed the easiest scene to recreate. And by recreate I mean I basically just changed the names and perspective to third person and made sure to describe Sheldon instead of Rhys. XD

So really this is for me and Alisha and if anyone else likes it, be sure to let me know in a review. Faves are great, following a one-shot is weird, but reviews are god-tier feedback.

* * *

Penny made her way up the hillside, finding nothing of interest. The other masked faeries paid her no heed. Whatever this Great Rite was, it attracted more and more faeries each minute. She was about to work up the courage to ask a bird-masked servant faerie who passed by what sort of ritual was going to happen when someone grabbed her arm and whirled her around.

Dumbfounded, she blinked at the three strangers. Unlike all the other Spring Court faeries their sharp-featured faces weren't hidden behind fancy masks. They looked like High Fae, but there was something slightly different about them, something taller and leaner than Leonard or Howard - which in itself wasn't odd, as they were unusually small for High Fae - but these three had something cruel in their pitch-black eyes, depthless. So, not High Fae, then - lesser faeries.

The one grasping her arm smiled, revealing pointed teeth. "Human woman," he murmured, scanning her top to bottom. "We've not seen one of you for a while."

Penny tried yanking her arm back but the faerie held firm. "What do you want?" she demaned, steady and cold.

The two lesser faeries flanked her captor and smiled. One grabbed her other arm - just as she went for her knife. "Just some Fire Night fun," the third said. He reached out a pale, too-long hand to brush back a lock of her hair. She twisted, trying to step out of his reach, but they held her firm. None of the faeries near the bonfire reacted - no one bothered to look.

 _If I cry for help, would someone answer?_ she thought. _Would Leonard answer?_ She couldn't be that lucky again. Just the day before he'd saved her from a terrible creature called a naga.

She struggled in earnest, but they merely tightened their grip until it hurt and managed to keep her hands well away from her knives. The three of them stepped closer until they sealed her off from the others. Penny glanced around, looking for any ally. There were more nonmasked faerie here now. The three faeries chuckled, a low hissing noise that gave Penny goosebumps. She hadn't realized how far away she'd been from everyone else - how close they'd come to the forest's edge. "Leave me alone," she said, louder and angrier than she'd expected, given the shaking in her knees.

"Bold statement from a human on _Calanmai_ ," said the one holding her left arm. The fires didn't reflect in his eyes, as though they ate the light. She thought of the naga, whose horrible exteriors matched their rotten hearts. Somehow, these beautiful, ethereal faeries were so much worse. "Once the Rite's performed, we'll have some fun, won't we? A treat - such a treat - to find a human woman here."

Penny bared her teeth at him. "Get your hands off me," she shouted, loud enough for anyone to hear.

One of them ran a hand down her side, its bony fingers digging into her ribs and hips. She jerked back, only to slam into the third one, who wove his long fingers through her hair and pressed close. No one looked; no one noticed.

"Stop it," she said, but the words came out in a strangled gasp as they began herding her toward the privacy of the dark tree line. Penny struggled, but they only hissed. One of them shoved her and she staggered, finally falling out of their grasp. She tried to reach for her knives as she fell, but sturdy hands caught her under her shoulders before she could draw them or hit the ground.

They weren't the hands of the faeries - they were stronger, warm and broad. The three faeries went utterly still as whoever caught her gently set her upright.

"There you are. I've been looking for you," said a cultured male voice she'd never heard. Penny kept her eyes on the three assailants and braced herself to flee as the male behind her stepped to her side and rested a hand on her shoulder.

The three lesser faeries paled, their dark eyes wide.

"Thank you for finding her for me," her savior said to them, smooth and polished. Almost arrogant. "Enjoy the Rite." There was enough of a bite beneath his last words that the faeries stiffened. Without further comment, they scuttled back to the bonfires.

Her savior dropped his hand and Penny turned to thank him.

Standing before her was the most striking man she'd ever seen.

Everything about this stranger radiated intelligence and confidence. High Fae, no doubt. His short dark hair gleamed in the firelight, a brown so dark it appeared black, offsetting his pale skin and blue eyes so deep she felt like she might drown. They were twinkling with curiosity and amusement below his arched brows as he beheld her.

For a moment, they said nothing. _Thank you_ didn't seem to cover what he'd done for her, but something about the way he stood with absolute stillness, the night seeming to press in closer around him, made Penny hesitate to speak - made her want to run in the other direction.

He, too, wasn't wearing a mask. From another court, then.

A smirk played on his lips. "What's a mortal woman doing here on Fire Night?" His voice was an almost southern drawl that sent shivers down her spine, caressing every muscle, bone, and nerve.

Penny took a step back. "My friends brought me," she lied.

The drumming around the bonfire increased in tempo, building to a climax I didn't understand. It had been so long since she'd seen a nonmasked face that looked even vaguely human. His clothes - all black, all finely made - were cut close enough to his body that she could see how, even though he was thin, he had a lean, graceful strength to him. As if he'd been molded from the night itself. He wasn't bulging with muscles, but he was definitely toned.

"And who are your friends?" He was still smirking - almost predatory.

"Two ladies," Penny lied again.

"Their names?" He prowled closer, clasping his hands behind his back. Penny retreated a little more and kept her mouth shut. She was worried she'd traded three monsters for something far worse.

When it became apparent that Penny wouldn't answer, he huffed a breath of amusement. "You're welcome," he said. "For saving you."

Penny bristled at his arrogance but retreated another step. She was close enough to the bonfire, to that little hollow where the faeries were all gathered, that she could make it if she sprinted. Maybe someone would take pity on her - Maybe Howard or Alis were there.

"Strange for a mortal to be friends with two faeries," he mused, and began circling her. Penny could've sworn tendrils of star-kissed night trailed in his wake. "Aren't humans usually terrified of us? And aren't you, for that matter, supposed to keep to your side of the wall?"

Penny was terrified of _him_ , but wasn't about to let him know. "I've known them my whole life. I've never had anything to be afraid of from them."

He paused his circling. He now stood between Penny and the bonfire - and her escape route. "And yet they brought you to the Great Rite and abandoned you."

"They went to get refreshments," she said, and his smirk grew into a smile. Whatever she'd just said had given her away. She'd spotted servants hauling food away from the manor, but - maybe it wasn't here.

He smiled for a heartbeat longer. She'd never seen anyone so handsome - and never had so many warning bells pealed in her head because of it.

"I'm afraid the refreshments are a long way off," he said, coming closer now. "It might be a while before they return. May I escort you somewhere in the meantime?" He unclasped his hands to offer his arm.

He'd been able to scare off those faeries without lifting a finger. "No," she said, her tongue thick and heavy.

He waved his hand toward the hollow - toward the drums. "Enjoy the Rite, then. Try to stay out of trouble." His eyes gleamed in a way that suggested trouble was anywhere near him.

Though it might have been the biggest risk she'd ever taken - and Penny had taken many risks in her nineteen years - she blurted, "So you're not a part of the Spring Court?"

He turned to her, every movement calculated and laced with lethal power, but she held her ground as he gave her a condescending smile. "Do I look like I'm part of the Spring Court?" The words were tinged with an arrogance that even an immortal might scoff at. He laughed under his breath. "No, I'm not a part of the 'noble' Spring Court. And glad of it." He gestured to his face, where a mask might go.

Penny should have walked away, should have shut her mouth. "Why are you here, then?"

The man's remarkable eyes seemed to glow - with enough of a deadlly edge that she backed up a step. "Because all the monsters have been let out of their cages tonight, no matter what court they belong to. So I may roam wherever I wish until the dawn."

More riddles and questions to be answered. Penny was never good with riddles and she hated questions she couldn't answer. She'd had enough - especially as his smile turned cold and cruel. "Enjoy the Rite," she repeated, as blandly as she could and returned to the crowd, hoping she'd run into Howard.


End file.
